100 Rides on the Ferris Wheel
by HalberdKnight
Summary: 100 Theme Challenge. Ships: Ferriswheel [N x Touko] / Agency [Touko x Touya] Based off the pokemon special manga, and therefore dark in tone.


_This is using the 100 Themes, a format where each scene is based off a random bolded word that is used as a prompt. Ferriswheelshipping (N x White) Follows the relationship of rivals N and White from Pokemon Special. May also contain Agencyshipping. _

**Introduction**

It was rather unforgettable introduction. It was just the tone, the overall light and kind air of the trainer as he casually challenged them to a small battle. But worse than that, he was crying. More like bawling. Large visible tears fell down his eyes, hardly even touching his face. White had never seen anyone cry like that. Yet he kept talking, an even and gentle tone, quite casually unaffected by his tears.

It was then Touko knew. She never wanted to see this person again. There was something fundamentally wrong with this person. "Touya, let's get out of here." She whispered, not even hiding her desperation, trying not to make eye contact at his opponent. She had come to learn Pokemon trainers were insane, as a rule. Touya her companion was outright certifiable. But this man...was different from that. There was something very wrong, and that included everything about him. He was pure evil, to be sure.

"Oh." The other trainer looked directly at her with cloudy grey eyes, rimmed with red, his whisper barely audible. "So you can't hear them?" She took several steps back, her lip curled back with pity and disgust. And he looked at her much the same way. The annals of Unova history would forever know these two legendary heroes as bitter enemies until the end, just for that one irreversible difference between them that made them who they were. As if knowing this future, N finally broke the silence between himself and the girl with a soft laugh. "How sad."

_Touko didn't know when she fell in love with N. It was a horrible thing, loving someone you hate. She knew that now as she lay in a hospital bed, making excuses for the man that broke her wrist and her arm. It was as though she was in an abusive relationship. It was pathetic. Touya was watching her come back to consciousness, next to her hospital bed in concern. Her only words that came to her mind were, "I'm sorry."_

**Misfortune**

To N, Touya was known as the hero, balanced in all things, with an interesting destiny. He would have preferred Touya join his side. Cheren was known as the one that wanted to better himself and improve, yet was far too single-minded in his ambitions for N's tastes. Bianca was a gentle and kind girl, beautiful if not for her low self-esteem and debilitating weakness. But Touko had none of these qualities. She was not interesting, she was not ambitious or strong, and she was not weak and doubting. She was simply the unlucky one. That was all that described her.

Even as N was locked in a room, for most of his life, he listened to abuse victims and consoled them. He wasn't a pessimist. He was the purest form of idealist. He thought he could fix everyone of his friends, no matter how abused they were, how hurt they had been. He didn't think anyone was inherently prone to misfortune. It was all statistics, a numbers game. As he watched her lose her subway battle when statistically the odds were in her favor, he shook his head. He gave a berry to Tepig, with a sigh.

Realizing their presence after her defeat, Touko stared back at them. That N was betting for her, or that Tepig was betting against her…She wasn't sure which hurt more. The pain, the betrayal shattered her heart far worse than any mere defeat.

"Don't worry, Touko. You're not weak. You are simply unlucky at the moment." N reasoned in a warm, musical tone that reached her ears as he leaned against the wall of the subway system, hand lowering his ballcap.

She walked past him, her hat lowered over her own eyes. "Shut the hell up." She snarled viciously.

**Fairy Tale**

Touko was unlucky enough that she didn't believe in fairy tales. She always did great big productions, designed huge sets, wore all the pretty dresses, and talked on and on about a prince to come save her. When N arrived on the set, Touko folded her arms.

"What are you doing here? Come to my workplace to harass me?"

N leaned over her, and plucked the script from her hands. He pulled a highlighter that was buried in his hair behind his ear, and started writing on the script. When he handed it back to her wordlessly, she stared flatly at back at him. She honestly regretted casting him as the lead princess, until the scene was very convincingly trapped in the tower. He looked out the window with a strong longing for liberation from his cage. He definitely was acting from experience. When he was unconscious, she leaned over him. The audience fell silent in anticipation. She let out a soft breath, suddenly self-conscious. It was just a kiss, and it was just acting. But somehow she knew N would take things literally and at face value just as he always did. She lightly caressed his face, and ran a hand through a strand of hair. "Are you really asleep!?" She suddenly shouted, breaking her character completely.

N did as well, by muttering, sitting up and looking back at her with tired, glazed eyes. "Where am I?"  
That day, Touko swore she would never let him step foot in her workplace again. She would just call security.

**In the Storm**  
There was a flash flood, and a Tornadas had appeared in the area. Touko had been riding her bike, cheerfully to work but had to stop, hands over her head, in the large grassy area to fight the downpour. Thunder clapped and crashed, the powerful and sudden storm raged around her. She saw in the misty distance her rival. He closed his eyes in the rain, getting soaked, smiling quietly, as she ran up to him.

"Get down, you're gonna get killed!" She came from behind him and wrapped his arms around him, shrieking at the top of her lungs.

"I want to know the formula that calculates the speed of electricity in the atmosphere." He told her casually. She was going to die, together with the man she hated more than anything in the world. This was a typical workday for her, as she was the unlucky girl Touko. Suddenly, the clouds cleared, and the way he looked almost relaxed up at the sky, still dripping wet, expression unchanged.

Touko started to shake, somehow less relaxed when the warm sun poured down on them. He was in control of everything, even the weather. What did he say, exactly, to make Tornadoes leave? What if he planned all this from the beginning, sent Torandos in the first place…and this entire thing was a trap? She wasn't even sure that she and Touya could get the dragon on their side that they needed… He could feel her on his back, soaked and shaking with pure suspicion and distrust that subsequently ran through both their bodies.

"Electric fields attract and repulse." She heard him say as she clung to him. "Somehow, that sounds familiar."

** No Time**  
There was no time to do everything. Train, to find Reshirim or Zekrom, go to every gym and beat the Pokemon League, become the hero of Truth or Ideals. Touko still had her own work to do, a regular job to get to. She was very good at pulling things together out of nowhere, almost renowned for her planning and coordinating skills. Yet she could feel the time ticking away. N was far more relaxed, like he was playing a game. She would see him go to theme parks, go get ice cream, go to the game corner and play video games. Being a crime lord didn't seem to be weighting on the conscious, she thought bitterly, and apparently, neither on the poketch. His minions did all the work for him, and he just sat back. It was pure arrogance, Touko believed.

In truth, the reason N was trying to enjoy himself was the same reason she was trying to push herself with work. It all had to end, and there wasn't enough time.

**Eyes**  
They were diametrically opposed in appearance. His eyes were grey and stormy, and he wore simple black cap. Hers were bright blue, and lively, and she wore a bright pink cap. But in a battle, the two were more alike than anyone could imagine. They had fierce eyes. They hated each other, knowing that with every word, every glance they were reshaping each other.

When N attacked her in that Ferris Wheel, he caused her to question himself, that maybe she was really pathetic and worthless, she was reborn, shaken awake. When she rebelled and survived, and caused him to question his infinite wisdom that maybe she wasn't pathetic and maybe she was worth something, he was shaken awake. If she was little to nothing to him, she didn't care anymore. Because she mattered to herself. That was the fire that burned her eyes. Could N say the same?

**Out Cold**

She lay down on that dirty floor of the Nimbasa amusement park late at night. Blood welled up in her throat, and she wondered if the carnies were even working this late. She was not unconscious even though she fell several stories. She was awake enough to look back at him, up in the distance. He had broke her heart thoroughly. It was only appropriate her body be shattered as well. As the visible blood trailed down her lips, as she curled in the fetal position with the emotional pain.

N looked back at her pityingly, even though he did it to her.

And Touko closed her eyes, one more conscious thought before the concussion set in and she would be out cold. You don't take your girl friend out on a date, just to break their arm and wrist, steal their pokemon like it's a noble deed, and then wonder if they're okay.

"Hypocrite."

**Dreams**  
"As if a person without a dream could ever understand me!" N shouted, his sharp voice reverberating from the magnetic cave walls. When N asked Touya this question, Touya would eagerly regal N with his story. Touya was the trainer of Dreams. His dream to be a champion was so strong; he literally had no mental capacity outside of his dream. Touko on the other hand, had a lot of pet projects, goals, submission deadlines, monetary quotas for ad revenue…but dreams? Not…exactly...

N spoke at an unnaturally frantic and rapid pace. "A dream is something you have your entire life, even when you have nothing else. Something you will do anything to achieve, and therefore, think about all the time. So even in the darkness, you still have a wonderful hope just for yourself. A place you can always escape to. No one can take it away. All people should dream."

"Why don't you?!" He raised his voice angrily at her.

"I'm living my dream." She told him coldly.

"Eh…"

She wanted to punch him, and badly. She glared at him fiercely with infinite fire, her hands gripping her pokeball. She would have to settle for a battle. "I guess… I'll have to crush your will here." He barely wanted to make the effort against the unlucky girl with no dreams.

**Stars**

She wasn't exactly used to camping out under the stars. She wasn't rustic like many trainers that started their pokemon journey. As Touya looked for firewood, she found a tree. She leaned back in the tree, and she stared up at the sky, quietly. N was walking past the campsite, and turned to look at her. Her reaction when seeing him was usually a jump back, a flinch, a shriek, or something to prove he was repulsive and creepy, but now she just closed her eyes. "Are you here for the meteor shower?" She asked calmly.

N was staring up at the meteor shower, awaiting it with new anticipation. However, from the trees in the distance, he saw someone, a human. He was about to convince them to leave this natural occurrence of beauty alone, fogging it with campfire and smoke, but the usual sharp lecture died on his lips. It was Touko, looking just as beautiful as the stars. Just as clear and at peace with herself, this night. He had no idea why he thought that. It was irrational. No human could belong here. Not even one that had soft closed eyes, sleepy and flushed from exhaustion. N leaned into her ear, moving a hand to playfully grip the vest on her shoulder. "Make a wish." Thousands of stars fell down at once for her.

"I wish…" As she muttered, he closed his eyes and buried himself in her hair.

"You'd go away!" She shrieked.

**Rated**

N sat at a movie theater, eyes wide. He always found movies to be repulsive. Yet, he never learned more about human socialization than by watching one of these films. He had to learn about the enemy, sound reasoning so the rest of Team Plasma didn't bother him when he attended the theater. His enemy just so happened to be a beautiful girl that produced sappy romance films. He continued to loathe her art, until it quickly became a guilty pleasure. When the two protagonists finally hugged, he started to cry in his black long sleeve shirt, freaking out other movie-goers.

Touko grumbled, seeing his wide-eyed stare back at her as he left the theater. "What did you think? Let's hear it." Obviously he only saw it to get some in-depth insight on her psyche, probably thought he now had ammo to mind-rape her. But N said nothing. He simply grabbed her in an over-the-top movie star dip, and kissed her passionately.

"sssss-s-Security-!" She called out when he graciously allowed her breath, wondering when she would learn better by now than to actually seriously be alone with N.

"Why are you upset? Isn't this how the human co-stars displayed their gratitude in your movie? I enjoyed it immensely. It was a movie that showed how deeply people can have emotions and what they are willing to sacrifice for each other. "

"…." Touko stared in shock. "You liked my movie?"

"No. I loved your movie, Touko. It was emotional and thrilling, yet followed a precise formula."  
She might get used to this. She looked at him very suspiciously, and her suspicions were confirmed.

"Wait! What was that movie rated?!- Security!"

**Tower**

"What do you think? How do you like the powerful form of the Pokemon that will fight beside the hero and lead the way to a new world?"

She didn't want to live in Plasma King N's world. It was a world of emptiness and isolation, born from this frightening man that desired the power to rule in fear, using an ancient black dragon of pure electricity.

"Do you want to stop me?" He asked, as if reading her thoughts. Touko was sick of this. A villain shouldn't be giving a good guy help. And she was thoroughly convinced he was evil, from start to finish. He was telling her how to stop him? There was something patronizing about it. That she couldn't do it so far, that she needed his help, and in the end she would ultimately fail.

"Then become a hero." N told her simply. That was all that needed to be said. Zekrom flew away from Dragonspiral tower, leaving her on the ground.

**Childhood**  
Alone in the toy room, beaten up, bloody, there was a small child. He wished anyone would play a game with him. He was tired of playing it by himself. Too bad, nobody liked him because he was a human. Not even his parents.

**Sacrifice**

She stood in front of the glass door to her studio. The placard tied to the doorknob read: Out of Business Until Further Notice. Her entire life, Touko pushed herself, creating new and exciting plays, watching them come to life on stage and on the big screen. It was her dream. The spotlights shut down, the curtains closed, and the dust started to collect on the floor.

To become a good enough trainer to enter the Pokemon league, to even be considered at Touya's side, that meant putting her dreams, her happiness, her livelihood on the shelf. She was left with nothing.

N was certain that they would battle in the future. That she would become a hero. Of course, someone as idealistic as him would never know. The painful reality gripped her chest. Being a hero meant making sacrifices.

And the show must go on.

**Keeping A Secret**

N was simply appalled at what he witnessed. Amanda had received what many abusive Pokemon trainers termed a make-over. The Servine was emotionless as usual, now sporting a gold bow. It was covered in glitter, and held a leaf parasol with its tail. "What did you do to her?" N asked with a raised eyebrow, kneeling down.

Touko was working on another costume, refusing to dignify him with a response. N's voice went down to a concerned whisper. Even as their conversation intensified in volume, Touko continued setting up for the dress rehearsal. "I understand." N sighed in resignation, getting up to leave. "She says that…"

Touko was just frustrated enough to slam a feather boa on the floor. If they honestly found her life so sinful, why did they even bother worming into it in the first place? "I wish my king would watch me from the audience. Is that what she's saying?"

"Not at all." N replied.

Servine glanced cautiously back at Touko. It acted as though the human was a threat. Even when she was hospitalized, with her arm was in a sling. Touko would never know what it was thinking. She could be a spy ready to stab her in the back at any time, or N's misguided yet well-meaning attempt to protect her. Touko didn't expect the mysterious pokemon to smile. No matter how many secrets she kept, her heart was only a fraction as guarded as her master's.

**Drink**_  
_"What kind of name is that?" Touya asked out loud, very flustered in his rant. "What does the N stand for…anyway? Probably Nerd. Math nerd."

"Did you look that up in your Pokedex?" N gave a slight laugh, his hat falling over his head, as he leaned over.

"No." Touya pointed irritably at a plant, and reached for his drink. "Bastard."

"Ah, Touya, you're so clever." N muttered, writing squiggling numbers on a napkin, handing it to Touko. "If only you would join Team Plasma."

"…How much did you two have to drink?!" Touko threw away the napkin back at N's face, which said -7i -21 u. It wasn't cute, it was creepy. When Touya didn't come in for work, she personally searched all up and down the city. He fought the gym leader and lost, so he had taken a break, wallowing in the misery of his defeat more like it.

"Sorry boss." Touya muttered. "It's just…"

"You didn't come in for work today." Touko spoke concerned, touching his forehead. He was heating up.

"Touya doesn't like working for you." N announced. Touya groaned. Why did he make the great mistake of telling all his secrets to someone he knew was incapable of lying? "You understand people, even less than you do pokemon. Isn't that strange?" N asked cheerfully, and Touko slapped him in the face sharply.

**Do Not Disturb**

N dedicated his life to others. But as selfish as it was, there were times when N would rather not be disturbed. This was one of those times. He closed his eyes, pulling Touko closer. She made a small squeak. Throwing caution to the wind, he leaned in. Suddenly the door opened. "Don't tell Touya!" N blurted out as his first reaction.

**Pen and Paper**

There were hundreds of advertisements, coming in, seats sold out, and revenue coming in. As a maker of her own business, she had just had finished hiring early. This was dry, analytical and boring part of her job, and she always left it for last. She already promised Touya she would train with him, and was going to be late, if she didn't hurry. Stress catching up with her, she stared at the paper, pencil between her teeth. Isn't there someone here that's good with numbers? N was staring at curiously from over her shoulder. Touko gave a strained laugh, and all too quickly crumbled up the papers. "Not you."

"May I?" N plucked the pencil from her weakened hand. "Touko, if you allow me to do this, you will have free time for yourself." He spoke very quickly. "I'll factor the polynomial, carry the one. … Strange."

"What is!?" The fact that the crime lord that was intent on putting her out of business was somehow doing her books?

"You seem to be doing quite well."

"Shut up." She grumbled, hating Why was he even here? She pulled out her calculator from her back pocket and said dejectedly, "….Bottom line?"

Not to much later, there was a scream, she had thrown her arms around N, kissing him on the cheek and ran out to show Touya, and tell him the awesome news. The entire time N stayed silent, until she left, and he closed his eyes with a shake of his head. Try as he might, he simply couldn't predict human behavior.

**Light**  
In the swirling darkness, brilliant streams of light broke through. "It is just as I envisioned." N looked up as the warm silver light fell on him, parting the storm clouds, even reaching the stone castle far below. "I predicted you would arrive, Touya. And indeed you have." N breathed out, in excitement coursing through his veins, transfixed by the beautiful dragon. Things were going so well. His dreams would now be realized.

The warm, inviting light suddenly too hot and too bright. It built indefinitely, into a blazing inferno, which incinerated everything in its wake. Despite being blinded by the virtual sun before him, N could hear the clear feminine voice even through the raging fire. "Sorry." Even as light engulfed him, he could see the dragon's icy blue eyes look down in judgment of the deluded human. To Reshirim, the Plasma King was simply a weak little child. Nothing more.

The trainer on top stood up, using Reshirm's burner to charge the attack. The legendary hero, the embodiment of truth, the unlucky girl with the simple pink hat. "You miscalculated." Was all Touko said, before unleashing an explosion went on for miles.

**Darkness**

Pure deep black darkness, engulfed around in a roaring vortex. Blue electricity and angry thunder crashed into her ears above the storm clouds. The message was clear to human and pokemon alike. To challenge the new champion, the great chosen of Zekrom, you are already deaf and blind to the world's fate. So to do battle in these conditions would make little difference.

Touko could see nothing but a black abyss below her. If she fell to earth, what would happen? Her blue eyes cast down, she murmured. "…Wish me luck…" Zekrom could not shake her resolve. The damage was already done. She had already fallen once, and never again.

**Obsession**

He frantically worked on the small puzzle. He was obsessed with that little toy, fingers grasping it. He would create a new world. Empty eyes were haunted by the pain that the empath was exposed to since childhood. It was hard to determine the passage of time bombarded by the screaming agony of those he loved so dearly. He found refuge in rambling out abstract algebra computations. It gave him a handle on his emotions, and neutralized everything around him. Now, he was presented with altogether new puzzles.

They made him second guess, falter, and doubt everything that he was. No matter how he tried, these trainers would stand adamantly in the way. If only he could understand them, work around them. Preferably without getting affected himself. The puzzle clicked into place. Solve, and move on to the next one. A boring, emotionless process…became something new, exciting and he invested his heart into it.

N needed to include his human friends in the equation. It was an obsession of which there was no escape.

**Heal**

Touko panted heavily, falling to her knees. The ceiling as broken, the water that filled the room evaporated into steam, and pillars crumbled and fell. Reshiram's pokeball finally ceased its violent shaking. She was teetering on unconscious and she reached out to her companion, Touya. He wasn't moving. He couldn't fight any longer. It was the end.

Touko closed her eyes, her hand closed around his. To him, she was the girl that would rather shop than train Pokémon. The one that didn't even know the basics of battle, and rather keep hers unevolved because they were cuter. His money-grubbing, stingy, overbearing boss. She always frustrated him; he would have to slow down for her. But he put up with her, always. It was her fault he turned out like this. "I'm sorry." She spoke weakly.

"His Pokemon are hurt." The silence in the echoing throne room was suddenly broken by a barely audible voice. The ominous form of Zekrom made a low growl.  
_  
_"And you were just watching this whole time!" She raised her voice savagely. She forgot the king that was sitting back in boredom on the throne behind her. She forgot whose castle she was in, or even why she was here. That such a horrible person almost had the satisfaction of seeing her cry again.

"Hold on…" N firmly grabbed both her shoulders. She tried to fight, so her tear-filled eyes wouldn't look into his greatly saddened ones. She wasn't going to accept Touya's defeat. N caressed her cheek, catching her tears with his thumb.

"There is no triumph to be gained in battling a weakened opponent." With that, he smiled softly, and directed her to observe. Touya's Pokemon had healed and got up in a daze. Touya sat up, rubbing his hair. Touko's old Tepig, Gigi had walked up to Touya's Pignite and handed it a max revive. She stared in shock. Touko couldn't believe how surreal this was.

**Innocence**

"There is nothing more beautiful." As the painful cries, angry roars and attacks filled the room, an innocent child lay in the middle, listening to every word well into the night. He didn't mind that his friends could end his life on a whim. He trusted them implicitly, and would hear out their grievances out of love, a gentle rain that would wash away all injured Pokémon's troubles. Because N didn't know what it was like to be human, he would wash away this world in a vengeful storm, shrouding Unova in ceaseless night.

Her blue eyes stared up at the many stars above, wanting to become one. A child stuck in a fantasy, plays and stories came naturally to her. Touko's entire life a game, until she was forced to become serious on that day... Her brown red hair poured down her back. Pure as fire, her white dragon swiftly burned the oxygen away from the Unova sky.

"And more terrifying." Concordia whispered, staring upward. They were all spectators now, watching this play written by Ghestis. "Arceus have mercy on us all."

** I can't**

"I can't." N kneeled down to the floor, at long last, overwhelmed. All numbers suddenly came to a jarring halt, all thought processes, all anticipation for change…replaced with... "I can't. I can't put her through this much pain." N whispered, pleading like a child. With each next step in the calculation, his heart ached, wavered. At every point he wondered if he was doing the right thing. He couldn't include Touko and Touya. He couldn't reconcile them. He was tormented by it, and the dark circles under his eyes showed how truly haunted he was. He was thin, pale, and physically affected by his actions of destroying everything around him. The empath was certain he saw those blue eyes, look up at him, he knew he was throwing away his one chance at happiness.

When he saw that empty theater, he didn't feel victory at making Pokemon and Human alike miserable. At taking away that joy. He didn't feel like a hero at all. And all that left him with was the role of the villain. He didn't want that part.

He didn't understand why he was so attached. Zekrom should abandon him for this, berate him for being so weak when compared to that brilliant artist and playwright, that powerful trainer, that beautiful representative of truth.

"I'm doing this to save everyone." N repeated, trying so hard to convince himself through the pain in his own chest, hoping she could hear him, wherever she was...and forgive him. Tears felling down his eyes. "I've have come to accept that…" He realized his team had surrounded him, and he swallowed. "I don't belong with them any more than I belong with you." He would be firm in his resolve. He wanted separate worlds, and the first one separate would be him. He lived on the margins and he couldn't go to a side. He didn't belong anywhere….He could promise her only that he would fight her to the end.

N stood up, giving a shaky, agitated laughter, smiling once again, casually through his flowing tears. "I will defeat them." There are formulas that even mathematicians can't solve.


End file.
